1960 Chevrolet Biscayne - Rock You Like a Hurricayne

With dreams of a stellar Biscayne blowing through his mind, Tim DeGrauwe went to work creating the perfect storm.

Retired Marine Sergeant Major Tim DeGrauwe is a big fan of Super Chevy Shows—hey, who isn’t? When we came across his beautiful and well-built 1960 Chevy Biscayne at the show in Rockingham a couple of years ago, it was love at first sight, so we were enthused to find out the love Tim has for ’60 Biscaynes originated at another one of our shows, Bristol in 2000.

“I saw a beautiful one and decided right then that I had to have it,” he said. “Plus, 1960 is my birth year.”

Fast-forward a few years and Tim’s friend called and told him he should consider visiting to check out an El Camino he had for sale. Upon arriving, the Biscayne in the shop caught his eye instead, and he finally found what he had been chasing.

“I offered him my ’66 Impala and emptied out my bank account for this car,” he said. “I paid an obscene amount of money, but I think it was worth it.”

Shortly after bringing his new toy home, Tim was activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which time he went to work planning and constructing the car in his head to create a game plan. When he returned home, he went to work beginning a frame-off rebuild and put the Biscayne on a rotisserie, but he was once again activated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed to Djbouti, Africa. Once safely home again, the body of the Biscayne was soda-blasted, and Tim finally found out exactly what he was dealing with.

“It was found to be in really bad shape,” he explained. “I’m not a bodyman, so I did what I could until Bob Jones of Bob’s Paint and Body in Prince George, Virginia, stepped in and finished the body and sprayed the Victory Red paint.”

The “Biscayne” badges were airbrushed on the side and back taillight panel by Danny Riddle of Riddle Sign Company in Hopewell, Virginia. Finally, the body was mated with the frame in January 2011, and though he knew he was pretty far from finished, Tim brought it out to the Super Chevy Show in Richmond.

“From that point on, I just listened to the car show judges and refined and corrected any discrepancies they found,” he said.

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Power comes from a 400-cubic-inch small-block bored 0.030-inch over and features Edelbrock RPM aluminum heads, a Comp Cams Xtreme Energy 268 camshaft, and an Edelbrock RPM Air-Gap dual-intake manifold. An Edelbrock Thunder 500 carburetor sits atop the powerplant, while an Edelbrock fuel pump assures that the combination is well fed. Hedman headers and a Flowmaster exhaust system give the Biscayne a hearty rumble, while a 700-R4 automatic delivers the power to the rear wheels. A 9-inch with 3.89 gears and a Truetrac limited differential take it from there. While the car has never seen a dyno or the quarter-mile, the owner said it produces more than enough power to give him a serious adrenaline rush.

“It corners like it’s on rails now with the stiffer springs,” he explained, undoubtedly world’s better than when the car was new. Foose Legend 18x8 and 18x9 wheels wrapped Nitto 555 Extreme ZR tires keep the Biscayne planted firmly to the ground in those corners.

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Keeping him comfortable during said adrenaline rush is an overhauled interior featuring a custom USA-1 head unit and Sound Ordinance amplifier and speakers, which Tim installed on his own. The beautiful gray and black interior was custom-created by Freddie Stell of Stingrays Upholstery in Prince George, Virginia. Among the awesome personal touches inside are Marine emblem seatbelt buckles, a speaker grille gauge pod, and kick panel speakers.

With his military background in the past, Tim is now a motorcycle officer in Richmond, Virginia, and obviously is enjoying showing off his beauty to other enthusiasts at Super Chevy Shows—three of which he’s planning to attend this season. He told us he has some serious tricks up his sleeve but doesn’t want to spill the beans just yet, so try to find him at the Virginia, Bristol, or Rockingham shows to check out the Biscayne. We promise it will be worth it.